and these mosques did not exist in the time of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. . . . (1)

For the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed her to perform 'umrah from al-Tan'īm. Al-Tan'īm is the nearest place outside the Sacred Precinct to Mecca. Someone performing 'umrah from Mecca goes outside the Sacred Precinct so that his pilgrimage encompasses both the area outside it and the Sacred Precinct itself. This differs from someone performing Hajj from Mecca, who goes out to 'Arafah, which lies outside the Sacred Precinct.

Then, in the following year, he performed the make-up 'umrah, entering ihrām at Dhū al-Hulayfah. Later, after encountering Hawāzin in the valley of Hunayn and defeating them, he went to al-Tā'if and besieged them. He then returned to al-Ji'rānah and distributed the spoils of Hunayn there, before proceeding into Mecca to perform 'umrah. Hunayn, al-Ji'rānah and al-Tā'if all lie to the east of 'Arafāt. The closest of them to 'Arafah is al-Ji'rānah, followed by the valley of Hunayn, then al-Tā'if.

Neither he nor his Companions would go out from Mecca to perform 'umrah, apart from the instance already mentioned in the hadith of 'Ā'ishah. For this reason, Ahmad explicitly stated on more than one occasion that 'umrah is not obligatory for the people of Mecca. Ahmad also narrated that Ibn 'Abbās said:

“O people of Mecca, 'umrah is not obligatory for you. Your 'umrah is simply circumambulating the House. Whoever nevertheless insists on performing 'umrah should put a valley between himself and Mecca.”

This is because the Companions residing in Mecca during the lifetime of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not undertake 'umrah from Mecca.